This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. This solicitation number is 75N94025Q00105 and is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation/contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-04. The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) Code is 811210 and the business size standard is $34M. However, this solicitation is not set aside for small business. This acquisition is being conducted using Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with FAR Part 13. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) intends to contract on a sole source basis with Illumina Inc., 5200 Illumina Way, San Diego, CA 92122 to procure a Fixed Priced One-Year Silver Support Plan for the following Illumina, Inc instrument:
NextSeq 2000 Sequencer - Qty (1) EA
Period of Performance: Sep 3, 2025, through Sep 2, 2026
Silver Support plan to include full coverage for replacement parts, labor and travel; Reagent replacement upon Hardware failures, 1 annual PM; Remote Technical Support 18x5; Service technician/personal shall acknowledge repair request w/in 24 business hours, 3 business days on-site response target. Control hardware/software updates: On-site applications support; discounted advanced application training, remote monitoring available. On-site Field Application Scientist Support - Standard on-site support coverage hours/days (M-F, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, excluding national holidays), phone support 5 x 18 M-F, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, pst and 5x24 email access to Technical Support. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certified replacement parts- Loaner Equipment: Illumina loaner instruments are only provided to customers under an active Illumina Service Contract. Illumina does not provide any third-party providers with access to loaners or replacement equipment. Hardware/Software updates - Any upgrades to hardware or software that are released by Illumina will not incur an additional charge for instruments if covered under an active Illumina Service Coverage, will not cover under third party vendors.
All detection technology that relies on lasers and capillary flow to generate data requires regular maintenance to keep the lasers aligned, the flow tubes clear, and the system calibrated for maximum accuracy. This is true for FACs machines, genomic sequencers, gas chromatography machines, cell counters, and cell sorters, to name a few. Although the underlying concept is the same, each machine is unique in its technological application, and therefore none of these tasks can be completed by individuals who have not been certified by the equipment manufacturer to maintain those specific machines. To keep these machines in working order and maintain the accuracy of data required for professional scientific scrutiny, a maintenance/support plan agreement with a certified vendor is required. Continuous operation of this Illumina sequencer is needed to provide high-throughput and high accuracy results to the NICHD investigators. Thus, to keep these machines in working order and maintain the accuracy of data required for professional scientific scrutiny, a maintenance/support plan agreement with the OEM (Illumina) certified vendor is required.
Illumina is the sole authorized provider of service for the NextSeq2000. Only Illumina Inc. has technical service representatives who receive comprehensive and on-going factory training and regular technical updates. Illumina does not offer this training to anyone outside of their personnel resources. Illumina has not authorized any third-party intermediary to provide Illumina products or services for this particular
transaction and is thereby the only supplier of Illumina services for this transaction with the National Institutes of Health NICHD. Also, they have direct access to original equipment manufacturer’s parts and specialized parts to help maintain the NextSeq2000 in optimal condition. Thus, timely service is crucial in the functioning of the NextSeq2000. The NextSeq2000 is a mission critical for the scientific experiments undertaken in the NICHD laboratories. Acquisition of a service contract offering from other entities/third parties’ providers can lead to substantive problems getting timely service engineer dispatched and can lead to down times on devices. NIH is a research organization where critical experiments require many weeks of tissue culture preparations and in animal breeding programs, etc. thus such delays will impose a very large financial burden on research laboratories which are hurting for research funds in the first place. Waste of experimental reagents, animals and human resources are the biggest problem in addition to reduction in research productivities.
The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under authority of the 41 U.S.C. 253(c) (1), FAR 6.302. This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice.
The offeror must include a completed copy of the provision of FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (May 2024)(Deviation Feb 2025) with its offer. The provisions of FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items; FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation – Commercial Items; FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items; and FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Jan 2025)(Deviation Feb 2025); FAR Clause 52.204-8 Annual Representations and Certifications (Jan 2025)(Deviation Feb 2025) – Deviation for Simplified Acquisitions applies to this acquisition. The offeror must include their Unique Entity ID (UEI), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. Note: The contractor/offeror must provide a completed copy of FAR 52.204-24, "Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment" with their quote in response to this solicitation. The clauses are available in full text at http://www.acquisition.gov/far/. Interested vendors capable of furnishing the government with the service specified in this synopsis should submit a copy of their quotation via email to [email protected]. Responses to this solicitation must include enough information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing all products and service (s) needed. Quotations will be due on July 9, 2025, before 10:00 am eastern daylight time via email to [email protected]. Attn: Tina Robinson. The quotation must reference “Solicitation number 75N94025Q00105. All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which if timely received, shall be considered by the agency. Any questions must be sent via email to [email protected] and must include solicitation# 75N94025Q00105 in the subject line of email.
Note: In order to receive an award, contractor must have an active registration for all awards in the SAM database @www.sam.gov.
Note: “System updates may lag policy updates. The System for Award Management (SAM) may continue to require entities to complete representations based on provisions that are not included in agency solicitations, including 52.223-22, Public Disclosure of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Reduction
Goals— Representation, and paragraph (t) of 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications—Commercial Products and Commercial Services. Agencies will not consider or use these representations. Entities are not required to, nor are they able to, update their entity registration to remove these representations in SAM.”